Scots-Irish American

Scots-Irish Americans are descendants of the Ulster-Scots immigrants who came to North America from Ireland in the late 17th and 18th centuries. The Scots-Irish, who had sufferred under the Penal Laws in Ireland, which discriminated against them because of their Presbyterian religion, brought with them a historical grievance against England. This grievance made the settlers and their descendants in North America more ready to join the patriotic cause. Moreover, it has been suggested that their experience in Ulster of being a colonial minority surrounded by a hostile native population, the native Ulster Catholics, prepared them for life on America's frontier. The "Scotch-Irish" celebrated their military victories over the Irish Catholics, which they believed had saved their community from annihilation. Of particular importance for them were the battle of the Boyne, the battle of Aughrim and the siege of Londonderry. James Webb's book, "Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America", suggests that the character traits of the Scots Irish, loyalty to clan, mistrust of governmental authority, and military readiness, helped shape the "American Identity". Unlike later immigrant groups, the Scots Irish discarded their past identity and are most likely to put their ethnicity as "American" on census forms.

More on the term Scotch-Irish

"Scotch-Irish" is a North American term that has been used since settlement to describe descendents of Scottish Presbyterians from the Scottish Lowlands who first migrated to Ulster and later settled in North America throughout the 18th century. Other names, including "Northern Irish" and "Irish Presbyterians", were also originally used to describe these people.

Related Topics:
Presbyterian - Scottish Lowlands - Northern Irish

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is believed that these already century-settled immigrants, now well established in American society, increasingly referred to themselves as "Scotch-Irish" in order to distinguish themselves as having Scottish origins against the later indigenous Irish arrivals of mainly Catholic origin that arrived in substantial numbers in America after the Irish potato famine of the 1840s. However, there are references to "Scotch-Irish" as early as 1730, and the term was probably first used to distinguish the Ulster-Scots from either Irish Anglicans or immigrants who came directly from Scotland, or both. The word "Scotch" at those times in history was the favoured adjective as a designation—it literally means "...of Scotland".

Related Topics:
Immigrant - Society - Origin - Indigenous - Irish - Catholic - Irish potato famine - 1840s - Anglican - Scotch - Adjective

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As people from Scotland nowadays refer to themselves as "Scots" or "Scottish", the term "Scotch" has become dated. It may even be considered an ethnic slur as it nowadays refers only to whisky outside of an American context. Consequently, the term "Scots-Irish" has recently become more frequently used even in North America, as it is used in the name the popular American historical book Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America.

Related Topics:
Scots - Scottish - Slur - Whisky - Historical - Book

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Confusingly perhaps for those outside of the US and Canada, the term "Scotch-Irish" or "Scots-Irish" does not refer to simply any Scottish, Irish or a combination of the two and is therefore considered by many to be less accurate a term than "Ulster-Scots/Scottish".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~